Getting It Right
by PJ Blindclown
Summary: Lief is determined that this time, he will get it right. Sequel to Knowing The Truth
1. The Letter Opener

(A/N.) This was originally going to be a one shot, but I've decided to split it into two chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Deltora Quest. Therefore, all the people, places etc. found in this story belong to Emily Rodda.

Chapter One:

The Letter Opener

Lief was sitting in the palace library, responding to various letters from the people that he had missed. He and Jasmine had only been married for three days, but it seemed that the people did not take holidays when it came to complaining. The topics covered in the letters ranged from how well various crop plantations were doing, to how bad it was that some farmers left their milk and eggs out while selling them at the market, allowing them to spoil in the hot sun. But the ones that Lief found most alarming were the ones urging him to produce an heir. There were some in Del who still felt uncomfortable with Marilen being the next in line to the throne.

But just now, Lief cared for none of these things. He wanted to be left alone, to enjoy the first days of his marriage, but that was not to be. As Jasmine had pointed out to him that morning, The people of Deltora would not stop working, just because their king had been married just days earlier. But as far as Lief knew, all of Deltora actually had stopped working on their wedding day, and come to celebrate. Now it seemed, the celebrations were over.

Lief thought of all that had just happened. He thought of the wedding, and how he and Jasmine had both felt like fools while dancing, but had none-the-less enjoyed themselves. He thought of how becoming Jasmine had looked in that green dress, which his own mother had made, to replicate the one worn by Jasmine's mother on her own wedding day. Then he thought of the bandage on Jasmine's left wrist, and the long, jagged cut it concealed.

If Jasmine was to be believed (and she usually was), the advice on which she had based her decision to cut herself had also come from his mother. The question of why his mother would give his bride such advice had been burning in Lief's mind since Jasmine had told him about it only two days earlier. He had not asked Jasmine about it again, for fear that he might upset her, and he had not yet found an opportunity to ask his mother.

As it happened, such an opportunity arose that afternoon, as Lief, Barda, Jasmine, Doom and Sharn were finishing their midday meal in the palace kitchens. Barda and Doom excused themselves, saying that they needed to discuss the security of the forge, since Lief and Jasmine had chosen to live there. A few moments later, Jasmine also excused herself, muttering something about how a new keeper for the messenger birds needed to be found and trained, and then, it was just Lief and Sharn at the table. Lief cleared his throat.

"Mother," he began tentatively. "Why did you tell Jasmine to cut her wrist?"

Sharn looked up at him, surprised. For a moment, she sat in her chair, not saying anything.

"How do you know about that?" She finally asked.

"I saw her do it," Lief explained. "She used her dagger, the one she inherited from Doom. I think she got it wrong, because I could not get the blood to stop, no matter how hard I tried. When I asked her why she would do such a stupid thing, she said you told her to do it."

"I did," Sharn agreed, raising her eyebrows. "But I thought you would help her."

Now, it was Lief's turn to be surprised. He looked at his Mother, not quite believing what she had just said.

"Wh-what?" He spluttered. "Why… Why would I help her?"

Sharn suddenly looked serious. "You do know why Jasmine needed to cut herself," She said. When Lief Nodded, she continued. "I would think that you might also want to preserve your honour, and make sure that you are seen to be doing your duty."

"My duty?" Lief repeated. "What duty?"

Sharn gave Lief a look that he had not seen in years, and he took a while to place it. Then, he remembered. It was the look she would often give him when he was failing to solve a complicated puzzle while doing his lessons in the afternoons. It was a look of exasperation mixed with frustration.

"Mother, I'm afraid I still do not understand what you…"

"Lief." Sharn interrupted him in a firm voice. "The people are expecting you and Jasmine to produce an heir as soon as you…"

"Yes, I know that," Lief interrupted this time. He was certain that he did not want to hear anymore, despite his earlier curiosity and concern. But Sharn was not finished.

"You do not want the people to think that you are lazy, or that you do not care for the kingdom's security. I have seen some of the letters you have received, and I know that the people would much rather have a child of yours as the next in line. I know that Marilen would prefer this also," she said, reading Lief's thoughts and preventing a possible interruption.

"I am sure Jasmine told you that she cut her wrist so the people would know that she had been a maiden, but it is much more than that. If you were anyone else, this would be the case. But you are the King and Queen now, and thus are expected to produce an heir within your first year of marriage. If there had been no blood on the sheets the morning after your wedding night, the people would not only think that Jasmine might not have been a maiden, but that you were not doing your duty to them. This could make them lose confidence in you both, and we do not want that."

Despite himself, Lief found that he agreed with his mother. Losing the people's confidence after all the years of darkness would be disastrous. Not only would it bring back the old hatred of the royal family that was still fresh in some people's minds, it would also make it easier for the Shadow Lord to invade again. If the people did not trust Lief, the Belt of Deltora could not be strong. Lief knew only too well what would happen if the magic of the belt was weakened in any way.

That brought another thought into his mind, one that had not occurred to him before. Lief looked at his mother again, and took his chances with asking another question. He only hoped that this time, his curiosity would not lead him to another awkward conversation.

"How do you know all this?" He finally asked her. "It is not like you and Father had the people's confidence in mind on your wedding night, why, you believed that they loved you until the Shadow Lord invaded."

Sharn looked at Lief for a long moment, seeming to ponder how best to answer his question. When she did, Lief found himself wishing heartily that he had kept his mouth shut.

"You are right," she said evenly. "We did not have the people's confidence in mind, but we were certainly thinking of Prandine on the night of our wedding."

"Prandine?" Lief asked, stunned. "What has he to do with any of this?"

"Quite a lot, actually," Sharn replied with a slight smile at her son. "You see, the whole purpose of my marriage to your father was to produce an heir. No one took into consideration how we might actually feel about this, it was what was expected. I think producing a child was the only royal duty Endon was ever expected to perform. Thank the heavens he got that right."

Sharn was truly smiling at him now, and Lief accepted the compliment with a smile of his own. But he still did not understand what his mother was trying to tell him. Thankfully, she continued.

"On our wedding night, Endon and I hardly knew one another. Prandine had it wrong when he assumed that a young man would ignore any kind of emotion as soon as the opportunity to have a pretty girl in his bed presented itself. Endon and I…"

"Mother!" Lief exclaimed, his face turning as red as the Ruby in the belt. "You cannot tell me that!"

"Why not?" Sharn asked, a teasing smile on her face. "I know the truth about you and Jasmine, why should you not know this about me?"

It took a few moments for Lief to fully process exactly what his mother had said to him. When it finally sunk in, he looked up at her, appalled.

"You know that we…" Lief could not bring himself to say any more. He was horrified at the idea that his own mother knew that he and Jasmine had lay together only a week ago, before they had been married. He only hoped that it was not Jasmine herself who had told her. The thought of his wife and his mother discussing their private business was just too much for him to bear.

"You know, Lief," Sharn said casually. "If you wanted to keep it a secret, you should have learned to wash your own sheets before it took place. Of course, I do not know all the details, but I guessed that it had not been a very long encounter when I removed your sheets to wash them the next day. When I asked Jasmine about it, she confirmed what I had suspected. She told me you were frightened by the blood, and that she…"

"Mother, stop!" Lief shouted. He was angry now. "Why would you ask Jasmine about something like that? That is our business only!"

All the while, the smile never left Sharn's face, which only fuelled Lief's anger.

"Jasmine came to me about it," Sharn continued, completely ignoring the look on her son's face. "She has no mother of her own, so I felt that it was right to answer her questions. She seemed to think that she had done something wrong, so I assured her that this was not the case. I told her that it was certainly not her fault that you did not know that there would be blood. Then she asked me if it was wrong that you had done that before you were married. I told her that it certainly was not, and then told her that she could cut her wrist if she was worried."

Sharn stopped there, as one of the cooks brought them a tea tray.

"Thank you, Brent," she said as the young male cook placed the tray on the table and bowed before leaving again. Lief felt ashamed that he did not even know the man's name, and here he was serving them tea. He made a mental note to learn, remember and use the names of all the palace servants in future. But for now, the discussion at hand was enough to keep him occupied.

"You still have not answered my question," Lief said as his Mother pored them tea. "Why do you think I would have helped Jasmine with something like that? I think it is a load of nonsense, not to mention really stupid! But then, when I asked you about it in the first place, you seemed shocked that I knew! It does not make sense!"

"Lief." Sharn said, sipping her tea and again giving him the look that reminded him once again of his lessons as a child. "In these situations, there are two kinds of men." Sharn was speaking slowly and patiently, and Lief was wondering if she was going to teach him a new sentence or rhyme to help him to remember just what kinds of men these were. He was relieved then, when she kept speaking and did no such thing.

"The first kind of man," she began. "Is the kind of man who knows nothing about any of this and does not get involved in what he would call "women's business". The second kind of man is equally concerned about preserving the honour of his new bride, and does everything he can to help her to do what must be done. Your father was such a man."

Sharn was smiling to herself now, seemingly lost in memories. Then she continued speaking again.

"On the night of our wedding, Endon and I still hardly knew each other. Prandine was certainly wrong about him, all Endon wanted to do with me that night was talk. He said he wanted to get to know me better, if we were to be bound together for the rest of our lives. I supposed that made sense, but I was worried about what Prandine might think if there was no blood on the sheets the next morning. When I told Endon of this, I thought he would be shocked. He just shook his head, told me not to worry, and then proceeded to ask me what my favourite colour was, as if it was nothing. But the next morning, I woke to hear him digging around in one of his drawers, and a few minutes later, he came over to where I was sitting, holding a letter opener. You might have seen it; it has a small Diamond set into it."

Lief felt his jaw drop. His mother was right, he had seen it. Only that morning, in fact. He had been using it to open the letters that seemed to be arriving at the palace every hour. It was a small blade, sharp enough to cause a cut that would bleed, but not sharp enough to be used as a weapon. But surely, the blade that his mother had described could not be the same one that Lief had left beside his papers in the library only an hour ago; it just could not be. But by the way Sharn was nodding at the shocked look on his face, he realised that it had to be.

"I found it when we reclaimed the palace," Sharn explained. "It was in the drawer, right where Endon had left it. I took it to the library and left it there. At that time, your father had just died, and it was just too painful to see it there, in my room."

For a long moment, Lief sat speechless. He could not believe that such a solid (but unknown) part of his parent's history could still be in the palace, after all the country had been through since. It almost made him want to weep. And now, despite himself, Lief found that he wanted to know more, as though his mother sharing this memory with him might bring a little of his father back.

"I-I was using it this morning," Lief finally stammered. "What did Father do with it?"

Sharn rolled up her right sleeve, revealing a small scar. Unlike the one that Lief was sure Jasmine would have, the scar was on the outside of Sharn's wrist, and only ran a short distance toward her elbow. Lief could also tell that the cut had been far less jagged than the one Jasmine had given herself.

Lief got up, and walked to where his Mother sat, still sipping her tea. He reached out a hand, and gently touched the scar with the tips of his fingers.

"Father did that," he breathed. Sharn nodded. Lief removed his hand, and went to sit down again.

"Did… Did it hurt?" he asked, after a long silence.

"A little," Lief's mother answered him. "But there was enough blood to make Prandeen think that we had lain together, and that was that. I thought that you would be like that also, but last week, I was forced to believe that I had been wrong. As soon as I learned that you were frightened by the blood, I realised that you were probably not going to be as involved as I had hoped, and so I thought that I should just say nothing to you and let Jasmine deal with the matter as she saw fit. I suppose Jasmine being Jasmine; she decided for you that you did not need to be involved."

Lief nodded, not knowing whether to feel proud of his wife's independence, or offended that she had made such a decision for him. He decided that that was not the immediate problem. It seemed that all that mattered to Jasmine, now that they were married, was producing an heir as soon as possible. Lief wondered if she had already forgotten that he had married her because he loved her, not because he wanted an heir. He already had one of those, and Marilen already had a child of her own.

Later, Lief sat in his old palace bedchamber, the discussion with his mother weighing heavily on his mind. He did not understand how Jasmine could think that she was simply a vessel to carry his children, when only a week ago she had believed that she was his lover. Had becoming queen really made that much difference to the way that Jasmine felt about herself? If so, then Lief knew that he needed to do something about it. But what?

Lief sat very still for a long time, letting his eyes wander around the room. He thought about that day the week before, when he had shown Jasmine the forest corner, and the vents that lead to them laying together a short while later. Then, Lief's wandering eyes fell on the pack he had used on the quest to destroy the four sisters, and an idea struck him.


	2. Communication

Chapter Two:

Communication

It had taken Jasmine hours to clean the floor in the bird room, and as she stood back and surveyed her handiwork, she decided that a new keeper for the birds was definitely needed. Jasmine knew that she could not continue caring for the birds as well as taking on the added responsibilities of being the queen of Deltora for much longer.

It was early in the evening now, and Jasmine knew that soon she would be expected to attend dinner with Lief, Doom and Sharn. As she looked down at her filthy leggings, Jasmine wished that time would allow her to change her clothes. She knew that it would not do for the queen of Deltora to attend a palace meal dressed as she was, but as she heard the bell for dinner begin to ring, she realised that there was no help for it. She only hoped that Lief and the others would understand. It also helped that the four of them still ate in the kitchen with the cooks, instead of in the great dining room.

Leaving the birds to enjoy their own meal, Jasmine quickly made her way to the kitchens, where she found Sharn and Doom sitting side by side and deep in conversation. They looked around as she entered, but neither of them spoke. As Jasmine sat down, she saw that Sharn and Doom were both looking at a paper that seemed to be covered in Doom's handwriting. No doubt, it had something to do with Doom's impending journey.

A few moments later, Lief came into the room, and Jasmine felt her heart skip a beat as it did every time she saw him. As he sat down beside her, Jasmine noticed that he was carrying a pack.

"Where are you going, Lief?" She asked him as he placed the pack on the floor beneath his chair. For reasons that were unknown to Jasmine, Lief blushed scarlet as he looked at her, as though he knew that bringing a pack to a palace meal was od, and was embarrassed by it.

"Oh…" Lief seemed to be struggling to find the words he needed, which was unusual for him. "N-nowhere, really," he said at last.

"No?" Sharn asked, joining in when she saw Lief's face. "Then why are you carrying a pack?"

"Oh," Lief said again. "It just has some things in it that I might need later, that is all."

Immediately suspicious, Jasmine made a grab for one of the pack's straps, and dragged it to rest beneath her own chair.

"Then I hope you won't mind me looking through it," she said casually. "I cannot think of anything that you would need that you don't already have, Lief."

"No!" Lief cried, pulling the pack back to rest beneath his own chair. Jasmine thought his reaction was quite disproportionate, but she did not say so. It seemed that Lief would keep his secrets, strange as they were, at least for now.

The evening meal continued in relative silence, the pack soon forgotten as the food was served. Sharn and Doom spoke little, and Lief seemed to be too preoccupied with whatever was on his mind to say much. But when Jasmine finished her meal and put down her cutlery, Lief finally looked at her and spoke.

"Jasmine," he said tentatively. "I was wondering… if… uh…" Lief broke off. Jasmine looked at him. His mouth was opening and closing rapidly, much like that of a fish that had just been caught.

"What is it, Lief?" Jasmine asked him. Sharn and Doom were watching them now, having just finished their own dinner.

Lief stood and retrieved his pack from beneath his chair. Then, without a word, he began walking toward the door that lead out to the gardens, beckoning her to follow him.

When Jasmine caught up with Lief just outside the kitchen door, she took his hand and allowed him to lead her into the gardens. But when she realised where he was leading her, she stopped dead.

"Lief," she began. "What…Why?" It was not that she had anything against going to the forest corner with Lief; she had very much enjoyed the last time they had gone there together. Even so, she would have liked an explanation as to what Lief was doing. It always annoyed Jasmine when he kept things from her.

"I got it wrong last time," Lief said, looking straight at her. "Last time we went to the forest corner, I got it wrong. And now, I need to get it right."

Jasmine noticed that as Lief spoke, his eyes moved from her face, to the bandage that was still fastened securely around her wrist.

"What do you mean, Lief?" She asked, feeling slightly alarmed. "What did you get wrong?"

Lief's eyes moved from the bandage on Jasmine's wrist, to the toes of his own boots. He was also blushing again, and Jasmine wondered if something was seriously wrong with him. His behaviour all evening had been strange, to say the least, and there was still no explanation from him as to why he was carrying the pack.

"I need to get it right," Lief repeated, finally looking back up into her face. There was something in Lief's eyes that unsettled Jasmine, but for the life of her, she could not think what it was.

"What did you get wrong, Lief?" Jasmine asked him again. "I am sure that whatever it was, it will not ruin you."

"It might," Lief replied. "If I do not get it right now."

Lief's eyes had moved back to the bandage on her wrist, and now, Jasmine felt herself becoming impatient with him. It was true that Jasmine had helped Lief in this way before, when the fears and worries in his mind had become too much for him to bare on his own, but that did not make the situation she was currently in any better. It was at time like this, when Lief did not explain to her what was on his mind, that it annoyed her most.

"Lief," Jasmine said firmly, looking him straight in the eyes. "If you like, I will go to the forest corner with you, and you can tell me what this problem is that you need to fix, and perhaps I can help you…" She broke off upon seeing the visible relief that seemed to pass over her husband. It seemed that without knowing it, she had said the right thing. So there was one problem solved.

In the place they called the forest corner, Lief and Jasmine sat together beneath the tree where they had sat only ten days earlier. From where she sat beside him, Jasmine could see Lief sitting very still, with his pack resting on the grass on his other side. She could also see the setting sun through the tree's leaves, and she wondered how long it would be before Lief finally spoke. She hoped that he would not make her wait all night, as he had done before. Taking a chance, she lightly touched his hand.

"Lief," she said carefully. "Why did you want me to come here with you just now?"

"Because I need to get it right," he answered, as though he had rehearsed this.

"But what is it that you need to get right?" Jasmine asked, becoming impatient again.

Lief looked at her bandage again, and then reached across with his other hand to touch it. At the same time, his face reddened once again. And all of a sudden, Jasmine understood.

"Lief," she said. "You cannot mean…" She stopped there, blushing herself. She had still not learned any polite words for what Lief appeared to be trying to tell her. Still, she tried again, this time taking a different approach.

"I cut my wrist so the blood would appear," she said gently. "It had nothing to do with you, really."

"But it did!" Lief exclaimed, his eyes returning to her face. "Jasmine, it had everything to do with me! My mother knew about it, but I did not. And now, I know why. Jasmine, I am so sorry. If I had known that night that you would bleed, or that you would cut yourself with a dagger the morning after we were wed, I never would have…"

"You never would have what, Lief?" Jasmine half-shouted, suddenly feeling very hurt. "You never would have lain with me? Is that what you are saying? Because…"

Jasmine's voice broke as she said that last word, and she found that she could not say any more. She stood to go, turning away from Lief as she did so. She would not let him see the tears that had begun to well in her eyes. Not now. Not after what he had just said. The idea that Lief might have chosen not to lie with her, simply because she was a maiden who was sure to bleed was like a knife through her heart.

But Lief it seemed, had other ideas. As soon as she began to walk swiftly back the way they had come, he jumped up and threw his arms around her from behind, preventing her from moving any further.

"Jasmine, no!" Lief cried, his voice trembling. "Please, do not go, that is not what I meant. How could you think that?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued.

"If I had known that I would hurt you that night, I would not have done what I did. Or at least, not right then."

Not understanding but wanting to know more, Jasmine finally turned to look at him. And with a shock, she saw that he was also crying. Whatever Lief thought he had done, it was plainly upsetting him. Jasmine felt the flair of anger die, but the hurt was still there.

"What would you have done, then?" Jasmine asked him, slowly turning in his arms so they were face to face.

"I would have treated you better," he whispered. "I would have made sure that you felt right… That you felt comfortable. I… Jasmine, there were so many things I wanted to do with you that night. But what we did do was what I wanted most. I… I put my own needs and desires before yours, and for that, I am sorry. I was hoping that now you might give me a chance to put things right… To treat you the way that I should have before. But…" His voice trailed away as he let her go. "I understand if you will not let me do that now. But Jasmine, please do not think that I only married you to help me produce an heir, because that has never been true."

And with that, Lief bent his head a little, and gently kissed her forehead. For the second time in less than five minutes, Jasmine found herself blinking back tears. This was strange for her, as she rarely cried at all. But what Lief had said, together with the way he had brushed his lips against her brow, had melted her heart. It was only when he turned, and began to walk away, that Jasmine realised she had to say something.

"Lief!" She called. "You… You forgot your pack!"

Jasmine knew that what she had just said was ridiculous, but she did not know how to tell Lief the things she needed him to hear. That she did not feel that he had treated her badly that night. That perhaps she had been wrong in not asking him to help her make blood appear on their bedsheets two days earlier. And most importantly, that she wanted him to show her what else he had wanted to do with her that night.

Jasmine was relieved then, when Lief turned around and made his way back toward her. She hoped that he would not simply retrieve his pack and go, for whatever it was he had been planning to do with her made her feel a strange mix of curiosity and desire.

"Lief," Jasmine said tentatively. "What exactly is in that pack of yours? Why was it so important to you? Does it have anything to do with…" She stopped there, realising that she sounded quite stupid. Surely, the contents of Lief's pack had nothing to do with his previous plans for that evening. But Jasmine was soon proved wrong, as to her shock and amazement, Lief wordlessly placed the pack back on the grass at his feet, opened it, and pulled out a sleeping blanket.

"I knew that this would still be in here," he muttered, almost to himself. "I thought it would make things more comfortable for you."

"More comfortable?" Jasmine gasped, still in shock. "How?"

As wordlessly as he had he had removed it from the pack, Lief laid the blanket on the grass, not far from where Jasmine stood. Then, he took her hand and guided her to stand upon it.

Lief sat down on the blanket, and Jasmine did the same. For a moment, they both sat silent and still, the only sounds coming from the crickets that had just begun to call. Jasmine felt Lief put his arm around her, and instinctively, she leaned into him. Now, she could hear his heartbeat, feel the desire within him, just as it had been that night, and she wondered how it could have been possible for him to put her needs and desires before his own, and indeed, how it could be possible for him to do so now.

"You did not do anything wrong the last time we were here," she said softly. "In fact, I rather enjoyed it."

Jasmine knew that what she had just said was not considered ladylike, but she did not care. This was Lief she was talking to. Lief, who had always accepted that she did not always know the correct things to say, due to her upbringing, and would never judge anything she said. Lief was also her husband, and Jasmine now understood that if they did not communicate about things such as this, then their marriage would soon become difficult. She had learned that lesson only two days previously, when she had not asked Lief to help her to cut her wrist.

"Did you really enjoy it?" Lief asked. "Even when you bled? I thought you were in pain."

"I never said that it did not hurt," Jasmine replied. "But that did not mean that I wanted you to stop. I knew that it was going to be painful, but I also knew that the pain would go away."

"And did it?" Lief said, as though he still did not believe her.

"Of course," Jasmine answered him. "And I will not bleed again."

Jasmine felt Lief pull her even closer to him. She gasped as he reached up with his other hand, and gently stroked a lock of hair from her face. Then, he kissed her. Softly at first, as though he was still afraid of hurting her. But as Jasmine deepened the kiss, she felt the desire within Lief take over him, and his movements became rougher and more urgent. She too found herself wanting more. Gently taking his hand in her own, she placed it on the bare skin of her stomach beneath her shirt, hoping that he would move it upward and touch her as he had done the last time they were here. But when he stopped kissing her and opened his eyes, she let go of his hand, concerned that she had done something wrong.

"What?" Jasmine breathed, trying not to feel hurt by Lief's rejection.

"Not like that," Lief whispered. "Like this."

With surprising gentleness, Lief placed his hand on Jasmine's shoulder, and pushed her down so that she was lying on her back. As Lief lay down beside her, Jasmine felt him touching her belly through the fabric of her shirt. When she looked at his hand, she realised that he was slowly unbuttoning her shirt from the bottom. As her body became exposed, Jasmine gasped and shivered, filled with desire of her own.

"Are you cold, Jasmine?" Lief asked as he began to touch her, having finished unbuttoning her shirt.

"No," she gasped. Jasmine could not think of anything else she could say that would reassure him, so she began kissing him as she had been doing moments earlier. But Lief broke the kiss, gently placing a hand on her cheek.

"Let me do this," Lief whispered. "If you do not like anything I am doing, you can tell me to stop, and I promise I will."

Jasmine inclined her head slightly, unsure of what to say or do.

Lief slowly began to kiss her again, softly this time, and no longer on her mouth. Jasmine felt His lips move from her brow, to her cheeks, to her neck, and then further down. His hands seemed to be wherever his lips were not. Then, he stopped, and Jasmine felt his eyes taking in every detail of her exposed skin.

"You're beautiful," she heard Lief breathe reverently, before his lips made contact with the parts of her body that he had recently uncovered.

Jasmine found that she could not reply. Indeed, she could do nothing but lie there, helpless with love and desire as Lief's mouth continued to move with surprising tenderness over her body. Now, Jasmine knew that she wanted more. It seemed that Lief knew that too, for she felt his hands come to rest on the waistband of her leggings.

"May I?" he whispered.

"Yes," Jasmine whispered back.

Jasmine thought she knew what would happen next. But as Lief slowly and tenderly drew her leggings toward her ankles, she realised she had been wrong.

Lief continued to explore Jasmine's body with his eyes and mouth, all the while murmuring affirmations of his love for her. She felt her body quiver with every touch or kiss, and heard her own voice mingle with those of the crickets and night birds as she cried out. Jasmine had never felt anything akin to this before, and as she ran her hands through Lief's hair, she realised that this was how he had wanted her to feel the first time they had lay together, and she loved him all the more for it.

As Jasmine's blood became like liquid fire in her veins, she felt her hands grip Lief's head more tightly, and heard herself call out his name. Immediately, he stopped what he had been doing and looked up at her. She then realised that he had misinterpreted her crying out, and was once again thinking that he had done something wrong. She desperately wanted to tell him that all was well, but she found herself unable to speak. Her body still quivered, even as Lief let her go and returned to lie beside her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," Jasmine croaked. She wished she could have said more, but she still found herself unable to say anything. But Jasmine knew that very soon, she would need to say something, because Lief needed to know that he had not hurt her, now or at any time, and that he certainly had got nothing wrong.

(A/N.) Ok, I know. I said that this would only be two chapters, but now, it's going to be three. Hopefully, it stays that way, and the next chapter won't take as long to appear.


End file.
